The joke in Rio is that restaurants replace beaches for entertainment in So Paulo. Its true. Brazils gastronomical capital keeps restaurateurs competitive, resulting in culinary experiences to be savored.

The variety of restaurants in So Paulo is mind-boggling! Here are a few of my favorites.

Brasil a Gosto.

Take a gastronomic journey throughout Brazil without leaving the table. Dine in this two-story home-turned-restaurant, surrounded by Brazilian folk art and nave paintings. Chef and owner/chef Ana Luiza Trajano taps into the soul of Brazil through reinvented regional dishes that she personally researches. Brazil has very distinctive regional cooking, which makes for a not-soon-to-be-forgotten tasting menu featuring different localities. Exotic tropical fruit juices compliment the delectable degustation menu that changes monthly. Rua Professor Azevedo do Amaral, 70. Jardim Paulista. Tel: 3086-3565. www.brasilagosto.com.br

Don Curro is the best Spanish restaurant in town. Treat yourself to its award-winning paella, made from secret recipes brought from the Spanish Royal Palace where the first cook once worked. Enjoy a variety of savory seafood options, sangria, Spanish appetizers and desserts. The owner, a former bullfighter, moved here in 1958 and opened this popular restaurant with a toreador theme. Edilson Melo, on the premises 31 years, supervises the impeccable service. Rua Alves Guimares 230. Jardim Paulista. Tel: 3062-4712. www.restaurantedoncurro.com.br

P.F. Chang’s is a dining experience you won’t soon forget. Although one of the biggest Asian restaurant chains in the world, the focus is on excellence. Its cuisine is innovative with fresh ingredients and first-rate quality. Traditional wok cooking seals in flavor and keeps veggies crunchy. Mostly Chinese, the menu also sports its neighboring countries’ delicacies. Save room for the banana spring rolls dessert. Chinese paintings and Xi’an statues combine with contemporary dcor. Av. Pres. Juscelino Kubitschek, 627. Vila Nova Conceio. Tel: 3044-0571.www.pfchangs.com

NB Steak. Brazil is famous for its steakhouses, or churrascarias where waiters continually circulate and slice skewered meat directly onto your plate. NB takes that experience to the next level. In this gourmet steakhouse, waiters still circulate but only offer a top quality bill of fare. The salad choices and garnishes are limited, but top-notch. Here the gaucho barbeques experience has been refined and redefined inside a contemporary, clean decr. There are three locations in So Paulo, all maintaining the high quality of food, coupled with superb service which has earned this restaurant countless awards.www.nbsteak.com.br

Marilyn Diggs is an American living in Brazil for over twenty-five years. She is a freelance writer, artist, lecturer and author of nine books – two about Brazilian art history. As an art reporter and travel writer she has two monthly columns in Sunday News, Brazil’s English language newspaper that circulates in So Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia. She has written for the Miami Herald, UNESCO’s Museum International and several in-flight magazines. Marilyn has a degree in Latin American Studies and is often contracted by intercultural training services to give talks on expat challenges. www.mdiggs.com